I Think I Was Better Off as a Faceless
by Scarlet Spade
Summary: I used to be a faceless with no role. But one night, a roleholder named Nightmare came and told me I was given the role of a third Joker! I was given the name Clover and now I work at the Circus/Prison. It isn't all bad, except for I can't perform any of the circus acts right, and then there's that slave driver of a warden! And for some reason the other roleholders seem to hate me.
1. Chapter 1: A New Role

Chapter 1: A New Role

I opened my eyes and saw that I was floating in some odd place, a place had only heard about. It was called the dream realm from what I could remember. A roleholder named Nightmare used this place to communicate with others through their dreams. You see, I'm no roleholder, I'm just a faceless. I have no role, face, or even a name. I'm pretty much worthless. So I had no idea what Nightmare would want with me.

"Ah, there you are!" I spun around to meet none other than Nightmare, who was floating above me.

"There is something very important I need to speak with you about." He said.

"Well what is it?" I asked curiously. Why in the world would he need to speak to me about something important?

"Because, it seems that is time for a new roleholder to be made. And I have chosen you!" Oh yeah, that guy can read minds! Oh crap. But, why would he choose me anyway?

"No reason, I did it at complete random. Though I think you'll do just fine in your role." Nightmare said.

"What role?" I asked.

"The role for a new Joker." Nightmare said. Joker? Oh! The jester! I had seen him the few times I had gone to the Circus. Did he die?

"No, nobody died. But according to the rules a new roleholder must be created every once in awhile. Normally it is not necessary to, because a roleholder has usually been replaced by now. But with the new foreigner, the violence has died down a bit, so I have to create one myself." Nightmare explained.

"When you awake, you will have a face. You will also need a name, but you can figure that out for yourself. The first thing you need to do is immediately head over to the Circus. I have already spoken to the Jokers, so they will be expecting you." Nightmare said. I was still in shock. This was happening so fast. I wasn't sure if I was happy or not. I mean, I'll have a face, and a name, but I'll be leaving my family to live with two complete strangers! I wasn't all that close to my family, but I still don't want to live with the Jokers!

"Don't be so nervous, it will all be fine." Nightmare assured. Then my dream began to crumble away.

"You're waking up. Remember what I said!"

I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. That was a really strange dream! I mean me, a roleholder? ! That's really funny! I got out of bed and went over to my mirror and began to brush my wine red hair. Hmm, something looks a little different about me today. Hang on, are those-

"Eyes! ?" I exclaimed. Well, eye, to be more exact. I had one red eye, and the other was covered by an eyepatch. My dream... it was real.

"I'm a roleholder..." I whispered to myself. Then I remembered what Nightmare said. I have to get to the Circus! I quickly went to my closet and put on a simple red dress with a white apron and a black bow that tied around the middle. Then I pulled on a pair of red and white striped socks with black Mary Jane shoes. And as a finishing touch, I put a black bow in my hair. As soon I was done, I headed out of my room.

After a quick explanation and a few goodbyes, I was on my way. I was a tad disappointed. I thought my family would be a bit more upset, but they didn't even care at all. My own father didn't even look up from the book he was reading to say goodbye. The only one that seemed to care at all was my little sister. But I know she'll forget all about me soon.

Well, I should probably tell you a little bit about myself. There's not much to say really. I'm fifteen years old, and I've lived with my family as a faceless all my life. I have a pretty normal life. I don't have many friends though, or any really. I'm pretty much a loner, though not exactly by choice. Nobody really liked me all that much, though I'm not sure why. I think I'm pretty likeable. As for my family, as I've already told you, we're not very close. My father doesn't really approve of me, and my mother just kind of ignores me. My little sister on the other hand, is loved by both my parents. My relationship with my sister is uncertain. I am jealous of her at times, but she is still my sister. It doesn't really matter though, I probably won't be seeing them for a very long time.

Anyway, I had just reached the Circus and was feeling very nervous right about now. It was mostly empty except for a few performers, but I didn't see that Joker guy anywhere.

"There you are!" I nearly jumped five feet in the air when I heard him behind me.

"Oh! I didn't mean to startle you." I turned around and saw the Jester standing behind me.

"You are the new roleholder correct?" He asked.

"Yes, that would be me." I replied.

"Great! In that case, follow me." He said and gently grabbed my wrist.

He gave me a quick tour of the Circus, most of which I had already seen before. He told me I would most likely be performing in the shows, which I wasn't to crazy about. I highly doubt I'll be able to do any of that crap.

When he was finished showing me around the Circus, he said there was one last place he had to show me. And before I knew what was happening, he somehow transported us to a prison of some kind. There was another man there, who must've been the second Joker, whom I've only heard about.

"This is also Joker. Joker, this is the new roleholder." Joker said to, err, Joker.

"Whatever, and what the hell are we supposed to call her anyway?" The other Joker asked.

"Well, it's confusing enough with two Jokers, maybe you should have a different name. How about... Clover?" He said.

"Fine by me." I replied.

"Perfect! Here, I'll show you to your room." He said and led me away.

He stopped at a door and opened it for me, gesturing for me to go inside. It was simple, but good enough for me.

"I hope this will suit you." Joker said.

"Oh, it will do just fine! Thank you Joker." I said.

"Think nothing of it. And we won't start training you for your role until tomorrow, so until then, you are free to do as you please." Joker said and began to leave the room.

"I'll see you later Clover." He said and shut the door behind him.

"Ugh!" I moaned as I flopped down onto the bed. This sudden change was a lot for me to handle. But I guess it won't be all bad, I mean, at least now I mean something! I'm no longer worthless! And Joker seems nice, the jester, not the warden. He kinda seems like an a** to me. But whatever, I'm sure I'll get used to it all. I just hope I can actually be useful around here though. I doubt I'll be able to do to much in the shows. I can't even do a freaking cartwheel! How in the hell am I supposed to do any of that? ! As for the prison, aren't wardens supposed to be... intimidating? I'm definitely going to fail as a Joker.


	2. Chapter 2: Training

Chapter 2: Training

The next day, I woke up to see a stack of clothing at the foot of my bed. I got up and quickly put them on before taking a look in the mirror. It was a short sleeved dress that revealed my shoulders and went down a few inches above my knees. The bottom was black and red checkered with a red sash tied around my waist with a ruby jewel. The top was gray had the cards suits going down the middle. It also came with a pair of black fingerless gloves that went up to my elbows. Along with that was a black choker with a red rose. Then there was a pair of thigh high black and white striped socks and black flats with red bows on the sides. The final thing was a black bow with two golden diamonds on each side. In the middle of it was a smiling mask with white beads hanging underneath it. It was a lot more interesting than what I had been wearing before.

"Clover?" A high pitched robotic voice said, coming from absolutely nowhere.

"Gyaah!" I shouted, jumping at the sound.

"Oops, sorry! It's Joker. We use these masks to communicate. I probably should've mentioned that earlier. But anyway, meet me at the Circus as soon as you can, alright?" Joker said.

"Will do." I said and the mask clicked off.

I immediately headed over to the Circus, although I wasn't sure exactly where he was. I decided to check the Circus tent, for it was the most obvious place for him to be. Sure enough, there he was.

"Clover! There you are!" Joker said, walking towards me.

"Now that you're here, I'll explain the show a little bit more. Every once in while, we are required to perform a show, which all roleholders must attend. There is actually one scheduled for tomorrow, but since you just got here, you can just watch this time. But eventually you will have to perform, so we should get started. So, what can you do?" He asked. Err, what can I do?

"Um, err, nothing really." I admitted. Joker frowned.

"Surely there must be something!" He said. I shook my head.

"Nothing that I know of at least." I said.

"It looks like we'll be starting from scratch then." He said. I really hope he isn't expecting too much of me. Because honestly there just isn't much I can do.

"Here, let's start with with something simple." He said and led me over to a large blue exercise ball.

"All you really have to do is balance on top of this." He said. Balance? Great. Joker took my hand and helped me onto the ball. I was able to stay on top for awhile, mostly because Joker was still holding onto me.

"Good! Now let's see if you can do it on your own." He said and took his hand away. The moment his hand left mine I tensed up. My body wobbled as I held my arms out to my sides. Calm down Clover. You can do this. I kept encouraging myself as I struggled to stay on top. I managed to do so for about 10 seconds before my feet slipped out from under me and I went tumbling to the ground. Luckily, Joker was able to catch me.

"Nice move b****!" The mask on his belt said, followed by hysterical laughter. My face turned red and I let go of Joker. Joker just chuckled.

"It's alright Clover! you just need practice!" Joker said encouragingly. And that's what we did. Practice. We practiced the same routine for probably three hours. I ended up failing eighty percent of the time. But by the end, I was able to stay balanced, for the most part anyway. But in front of a huge crowd, I'm not so sure how well I'd do.

"I think that's enough for today. We can try again later. And once you master this, we can move on to more difficult acts." Joker said. I sighed.

"Joker, I'm glad you believe in me, but I'm pretty sure this is as good as it gets." I said. I'm so optimistic, I know.

"Nonsense! In a few weeks I'm sure you'll be able to perform just fine!" Joker said with a bright smile.

"I really hope you're right Joker..."

I had thought my training was over for the day, but no. My training was over with the nice Joker for the day. My training with the other Joker was just about to begin, right after I changed into a warden uniform. It was similar to Joker's, except it was in dress form and had short sleeves. And instead of pants I wore black leggings that stopped above my knees. The boots were pretty much the same, but I didn't wear a hat though, I just kept my bow.

"Alright kid, there really isn't all that much you can do around here. I don't really think you'd be any help with catching prisoners. And I really don't think you want to be in charge of torture and execution." He said. My face paled at the thought of torturing and/or killing some poor prisoners.

"All you need to do is make sure all of them are in their cells. Here is a list of the cell numbers that are currently occupied." He said, handing me an excessively long list. And I mean long. There must've been 80 pages in there! Slave driver much?

"If a cell on this list is empty, notify me immediately. Got it?" I nodded.

"Also, you'll need these." He said, handing me a ring of keys.

"But do not, I repeat, do NOT unlock any of the cells unless I've given you specific instructions, understood?" I nodded again.

"And you'll need this as well, though I highly doubt you'll ever use it." He said, and handed me a scary looking whip. I took it hesitantly and hung it from my waist along with my keys. I can guarantee I'll never use that thing.

"And if you f*** up, you'll be dealing with me!" Joker said, cracking his own whip to the side in an attempt to intimidate me. Well it worked. I flinched and trembled slightly while he just chuckled darkly.

"I think you get the point. Well, you're on your own kid. Get to work, and don't bug me unless it's important!" And with that, he left. Really? That's it? I don't even know where to start! This place is huge! And I just know I'll get lost. I sighed and checked the list. The first cell number on the list was #87. I then looked to my right and checked the number on the nearest cell. #3892. I hate my life.


	3. Chapter 3: Overworked

Chapter 3: Overworked

Hours later, after I had finished checking all the cells, and after getting completely lost multiple times, I headed back to Joker's office, absolutely exhausted. I really hope I don't have to do this every day, because that was just god awful. It was long, boring, and a bit frighting to be completely honest. It really didn't help that the prisoners kept whistling and shouting pick up lines at me. Perverts. I desperately wanted to use that whip when one of them tried to grab my dress.

I finally reached his office and knocked, only to be answered with silence. Sighing, I opened the door anyway to see Joker leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk, asleep. He was sleeping this whole time? ! While I was working my a** off? ! I walked over to him and dropped the cell number list onto his desk. It landed with a thud, loud enough to wake Joker, who grumbled in response.

"What? !" He said as he sat up, looking quite unhappy to see me.

"I finished checking the cells, finally." I said with annoyance in my voice.

"All of them?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, all of them." I replied grumpily.

"Joker? ! You had her check ALL the cells on her first day? !" The nicer Joker exclaimed from the mask in it's usual robotic voice.

"Tch, yeah. That's what she's here for right?" He said lazily. My eye twitched and I balled my hands into fists.

"I'm here because I was assigned this stupid role! Not to be your personal slave!" I shouted at him. Normally, I'm a lot more quiet and polite, but right now I'm too tired and pissed off to care.

"You'd better keep your mouth shut kid. I'm in charge around here." He said returning to his original position, not caring about angry I was.

"No Joker, I do believe I am." Joker opened his eye and we saw, err, Joker, standing in the doorway. Their names are really confusing by the way. I wish they had some kind of nickname I could call them by. Anyways, he came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"And Clover is right. She is not here for you to shove all your work onto. She is a Joker as well now, and you will treat her like one, not like a servant." Joker scolded. The rude Joker just rolled his eye. The jester sighed.

"Anyways, Clover, go get some rest. You look exhausted." Joker said, shooting a glare at his twin.

"Thank you Joker." I said and stumbled out of the room. Once I reached my destination, my destination being my room, I immediately tore off my clothes and threw on a plain black nightgown that I had found in my closet. Then I pulled back the covers and slipped under. I was so tired I fell asleep almost immediately.

After I had fallen asleep, I had found myself in the dream realm once again. Nightmare was floating in front of me, currently smoking a hookah, and looked like he was sitting on thin air.

"So, I take it your first day went well?" He asked with a smirk. I glared at him. I could tell he already knew exactly how it had gone.

"No, no it did not. Why, out of any other role, did I have to be a Joker? !" I said, burying my face in my hands. His smirk grew wider.

"Because, it was easy." He said. I looked up at him.

"What?" I nearly growled.

"I said, it was easy. If I hadn't given you the simple role of a third Joker, I would've had to create an entirely new role! And that just sounds difficult." He said lazily.

"So, I'm stuck in the worst possible role, with one of the most infuriating roleholders, because you were too freaking lazy to come up with a new role? !" I shouted.

"Well, yeah, pretty much." He said. I groaned and slapped my hand to my forehead.

"But I also came to warn you Clover." He said, turning serious.

"About what?" I asked, a little concerned.

"Since tomorrow is the day of the Circus event, you will be meeting a lot of the roleholders. But, some of them, probably most of them, won't take too kindly to you." He said. Oh great, even as a roleholder people don't like me.

"But why?" I asked.

"The Jokers aren't very well liked... at all. So they will be suspicious of you. Just be careful around them." He said.

"But now it's time for you to wake up. Remember, be careful!"

I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes before letting out a groan. Today I have to meet a bunch of people that probably want me dead. Yay. I rolled out of bed and quickly got dressed before heading out. I really wanted to get to the Circus without having to run into the warden. I looked left and right and didn't see any sign of him. Thinking the coast was clear, I walked down the hallway quickly and turned the corner, only run right into him.

"F***! Watch where the hell you're going kid!" He said, glaring down at me.

"I have a name you know." I said. Well, I can honestly say I've never said THAT before.

"Whatever, now get your a** to the Circus!" He ordered rudely and left. Seriously, what the hell is his problem? Oh well, as long as the other Joker is here, I don't think I'll too much of a problem with him.

After I had gotten to the Circus, I saw that it was already crowded with people. Most of them were faceless, but I did see a few roleholders. I had planned on introducing myself to as many of them as I could, but after what Nightmare said, I think I'll just stay where I am. But one person did catch my eye. It was a girl, with dirty blonde hair and turquoise eyes and was wearing a frilly blue dress. Oh! That must be the foreigner I'd heard the other faceless kids talking about! I think her name was Alice. Then I noticed the troubled look on her face. I think she might be lost. Since she's not a roleholder, and because I'd heard how nice she is, I decided to help her.

I walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She was just a tad taller than me, and probably a few years older. She turned around and looked at me in confusion.

"Excuse me miss, are you lost?" I asked with a friendly tone.

"Yes, I'm afraid I lost sight of my friends." She replied.

"I can help you miss, Alice right?" I asked. She nodded.

"Well I'm Clover, nice to meet you Alice. Now, who are you looking for?" I asked.

"Um, well, all of them are roleholders. Blood Dupre, Elliot March, and the Bloody twins." She said. Oh! She's looking for the Mafia!

"I think I know where they are Alice!" I said and began to pull her into the crowd. I had seen them somewhere in the crowd. As I looked around, I could see Alice looking at me strangely.

"What is it Alice?" I asked.

"Well, I was just wondering, are you a new roleholder? I've never seen you around here before." She said. I laughed lightly.

"Oh yeah, I just got my role a few days ago." I explained.

"What is your role if you don't mind me asking?" She asked.

"I was the lucky person that got chosen to be a third Joker." I said sarcastically. She smiled sympathetically.

"I can't tell you how bad I feel for you right now." She said. I laughed again.

"It's alright- Oh! There they are!" I said pointing towards a group of people. I continued to lead her over to them, completely forgetting what Nightmare had told me.

"Alice! There you are!" Blood said. All of them rushed over to her immediately, not seeming to notice me.

"Sorry, I had gotten lost. Luckily, Clover here led me back." Alice said, gesturing towards me. All of them turned to look at me, making me feel uncomfortable.

"A new roleholder?" Blood questioned.

"Yes, I was given a role just several days ago." I said.

"And what role might that be?" He asked, giving me a strange look. Alice tensed up and gave me a worried look.

"The role of a third Joker." I said. His eyes narrowed and the other three roleholders looked at me with a judgmental stare.

"Boss! If she's a Joker, can we kill her?" The twins asked excitedly. My eyes widened and I stepped back.

"What? !" I exclaimed. Alice walked over and stepped in front of me protectively.

"No, you cannot! What is wrong with you people? !" Alice shouted.

"Um Alice, she's a Joker!" Elliot said.

"So? Why do you have to judge her so quickly? Come on Clover, let's get away from here." Alice said and began to lead me away.

"But Alice, I thought you wanted to find them?" I said.

"I can just find them again when the show starts. They're always easy to find. Besides, I don't want to speak to any of them for awhile, those judgmental jerks!" She exclaimed.

"Speaking of which, are you in the show today Clover?" She asked in a much calmer voice.

"No, not this time. I can't even do any of the acts yet." I admitted. Alice and I stopped and sat down on a bench not too far from the circus tent.

"I'm sure you will eventually. And another thing, how are the Jokers treating you?" She asked.

"Well, Joker is nice, but the other one's a real a**!" I exclaimed. Alice laughed.

"Trust me, I know." She said. Just then, Joker walked up to us with his usual smile on his face.

"Hello Alice, Clover. I see you two have met." He said. Alice nodded.

"Hello White." She said. I looked at her in confusion. Who the hell was White?

"Oh, I call him White, and the other Black. It just makes things less confusing.

"I see. That does make it a lot easier." I agreed.

"And Joker hates his nickname with a burning passion." Joker, err, White said with a smirk.

"I see, so it pisses him off too? I'm definitely using those names for now on." I said, causing the other two to laugh.

"Well, the show is about to start. Hurry up and get in there before you're too late!" White said. Alice nodded and took my arm and began to lead me into the tent.


End file.
